Chapter 320. To authorize the Saint Louis, Avoyelles and Southwestern Railway Company to bridge Bayou Des Glaises and Atchafalaya River in the State of Louisiana
1,163 words·~5 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-28/chapter-320-2025569·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 320.— An Act To authorize the Saint Louis, Avoyelles and Southwestern Railway Company to bridge Bayou Des Glaises and Atchafalaya River in the State of Louisiana.August 23, 1894. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,St Louis, Avoyelles and Southwestern Railway Company may bridge Bayou Des Glaises and Atchafalaya River, La. That the Saint Louis, Avoyelles and Southwestern Railway Company, its successors or assigns, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a railway bridge and approaches thereto over and across Bayou Des Glaises, in the parish of Avoyelles, State of Louisiana, and also a railway bridge and approaches thereto over and across the Atchafalaya River, between Melville and the mouth of Red River, in said State, at such point as may be selected by said railway company for crossing said bayou and river with its railroad line, subject to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Said bridges shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railwayRailway, wagon, and foot bridges. trains, and, at the option of said company, may be used for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the-transit of animals, and for foot passengers, for such reasonable rates of toll as may be approvedToll. from time to time by the Secretary of War. That the bridges over the said streams shall be constructed as draw or pivot bridges; the drawDraw piers. 500 or pivot pier shall be over the main channel of the stream at an accessible navigable point, and the openings on each side of the pivot pier shall not be less than one hundred feet in the clear, unless otherwise expressly directed by the Secretary of War, and if so directed shall be according to such direction, and the said openings shall be accessible at all stages of water, and the spans shall be not less than ten feet above extreme high water, as understood at the point of location, to the lowest part of the superstructure of the bridge, and the piers and draw rests shall be parallel with, and the bridge or bridges at right angles to, the current of the stream or streams, and no riprap or other outside protection for imperfect foundations shall be permitted to approach nearer than four feet to the surface of the water at its extreme low stage, or otherwise to encroach upon the channel ways provided for in this Act; and all and each of said draws shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signals for the passage of boats; and said company shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset till sunrise, throughout Lights, etc.the season of navigation, such lights or other signals on said bridges as the Light-House Board may prescribe.
Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this Act, and subject to its limitations,Lawful structures and post routes. shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known as a post route, upon which also no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or public highways leading to the said bridge; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post roads in the United States.
Sec. 3. That no bridge shall be erected or maintained under .theFree navigation. authority of this Act which shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the free navigation of said streams; and if any bridge erected under such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, Changes.obstruct such navigation he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of said bridge or bridges to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at the expense of the owner or owners Litigation.of said bridge.
And in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said streams, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be brought in the district court of the United States for the western district of *Proviso*. Existing laws.Louisiana: *Provided*, That nothing in this Act shall be so Construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers or to exempt said bridges from the operation of the same.
Sec. 4. That all railway companies desiring the use of said bridges,Use by other companies. or either of them, shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to t he passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches thereto, upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use. Sec. 5. That the bridges authorized to be constructed under thisSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. Act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said streams as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of said bridges, and each of them, and a map of the location, giving, for the space of one-half mile above and one-half mile below the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the streams, the shore lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the currents at all stages, and the soundings accurately showing the bed of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridge or bridges are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge or bridges shall not be built; and should 501 any change be made in the plan of said bridges, or either of them,Changes. during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to approval of the Secretary of War.
And the said structure shall be changed at the cost and expense of the owners thereof, from time to time, as the Secretary of War may direct, so as to preserve the free and convenient navigation of said streams, and the authority to erect and continue any and all of said bridges shall be subject to revocation by the Secretary of War whenever the public good, in his judgment, so requires. Sec. 6. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is herebyAmendment, etc. expressly reserved.
Sec. 7. That this Act shall be null and void if actual constructionCommencement and completion. of the bridge or bridges herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the approval of this Act. Approved, August 23, 1894.